Onrea Jones

i have been wondering if or when the REDBLACKS would sign Onrea Jones. He was one of those imports that bounced around the NFL ('07-'12) before landing in the CFL.
He came to Hamilton in '12, when Burris came over from Calgary, in a very crowde group of receivers. Chris Williams was rookie of the year in 2011, bakari Grant and Aaron Kelly also returned to Hamilton in 2012, Canadian's Fantuz signed the big FA contract, 1st round pick Giguere finally arrived in Hamilton after 4 NFL seasons ON PRs and Stalla also was there. All those bigger names and Jones flew under the radar for two seasons earning a good amount of playing time and producing big time when he was in the lineup splitting time with that deep group had almost 1,000 yards in 2 seasons. He also was solid on return teams whether he was the main returner or an up guy on kickoffs.
I guess it took for Johnson to break his arm. Once he is in Shape and gets the play book down Burris and he already have a good connection. Jones also was a utility receiver learning all the spots very quickly. At just 30 years old he still has some years left and could end up being around for awhile with Burris

You were wondering if/when Ottawa would sign him or if any other team would? Why would you fit him to just Ottawa?

I was wondering when/if anyone would pick him up. With Burris in Ottawa I thought that would be the best situation to give Hank a receiver he is very familiar and comfortable with.

I was thinking along the lines whn Toronto signed Jason Barnes when they acquired Ricky Ray.

Same with Aaron Kelly in Winnipeg. Marcell B upon joining the Bombers last season they got Keely ASAP because he was with Marcell in Hamilton. Kelly, Williams, and Grant all were brought into Hamilton by Marcell. Kelly was the odd man out when Cortez took over and Austin just plain let him go. He winded up in the Arena league until Marcel got the job with the Bombers

No. You specifically said if or when the REDBLACKS would sign him. Almost as if we’re a dumping ground for other team’s castoffs.

Irregardless I see that Onrea Jones is listed on Ottawa’s Practice Roster. I can see him moving up to the active roster in
the very near future. IMO Jones is a solid player who can only help the RB’s and he does have a rapport with Burris,
playing the last 2 years together in Hamilton. Jones isn’t flashy,but he rarely dropped a pass in Hamilton and has a sure
set of hands and an outstanding work ethic,he might just be what you guys are looking for to shore up your receiving
problem.

There’s nothing wrong with what was said. I was impressed with Jones while he was in Hamilton and he has a great rep with Burris, it DOES make more sense for Ottawa to sign him than any other team.

Why people are taking things so personell about the REDBLACKS and acquiring experienced CFL players.
If there was anything more perfect for the REDBLACKS right now would be an expereinced receiver. So many receiver are dropping balls. Kierre Johnson is out now for a while.
Burris and Jones had a great connection in Hamilton when they both arrived in 2012. So much so that Jones actually took Aaron Kelly's spot who was part of that trio of Williams, Grant, and Keely for the 2011 Cats.
Look at Kelly now. He was one of the first new players the bombers acuired when Marcell B took the offence in 2013 and their relationship has boomed.
The Bombers cleaning house were in similar to Ottawa. Bobers let go plenty of vets that did not fit the new culture. Acquired and placed some young players into the line up. And had to serach for some expereinced guys that would fit.
You can only afford to acquire so many top line FA's.
It is the released guys who were let go for new coches preferences that will the players that will fill those gaps.
Kelly in WIN and now Jones in Ottawa has a great chance to be very successful

Cripes, he can’t hurt! You talked him up before so I’m really looking forward to seeing him. :thup:

Goodness. so i said the REDBLACKS should pick up Jones. It makes sense.
I didn't say they should grab Maurice Mann of the scrap heep. That would not make sense for Ottawa but for Toeonto it made sense for them

Ottawa did a great job in getting to acquire players at almost every position, which was amazing the way they used the resources available to them to do that so quickly. Receevers were the only position in which really they ran out of time in acquiring what they had at every other position. Again that was amazing

I think they thought they had better ones than they actually ended up with. They seem to like Marcus Henry, for example, but he drops almost as many as he catches. Also a couple of the big American receivers they signed ended up regularly injured or (from our perspective) disappeared off the roster. They’ve been let down there, in my view.

They’re willing to let young guys learn and make mistakes, which may be a good long-term thing, but it can be excruciating from the fan’s point of view. There are a couple that I can’t figure out why they’re on the roster.

coming in to the season everyone knew that depth was going to be an issue and they weren’t going to hit a home run with everyone they brought to camp. Jones logically fits the bill for an in season addition. Like you said they have a great plan allowing some young players to grow. They also need some now players as well. Without Johnson now Hank will be happy to see Jones. He also played great on return teams for Hamilton. Not just as the primary returner on kick offs at times but also an up player blocking and handling short kickoffs or squibs.
Hamilton was basically in the same situation last year bringing players during the season to find the right fit. From a receiver position Austin and Conwell got one of their own in Tasker from Cornell who knew the offense and gave them a huge boost for receiver depth right away.

Right on.

[url=http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/08/14/ottawa-redblacks-receivers-need-to-get-a-grip]http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/08/14/ott ... get-a-grip[/url]
To have any chance at all against the Edmonton Eskimos, the RedBlacks will have to eliminate the infuriating little mistakes that have led to their dismal 1-5 start.

Things like dropped passes.

To that end, making his Ottawa debut Friday will be former Ticat receiver Onrea Jones. He’ll wear No. 89, which once belonged to another Jones – former Rough Rider receiving great Stephen Jones, who also played for the Eskimos.

Maybe the choice of jerseys will be a good omen.

Over the past two years, Jones has caught 74 passes for 969 yards and eight touchdowns. His quarterback was Henry Burris.

“Onrea is a guy who’s very reliable,” Burris, the RedBlacks pivot, said Thursday. “He’s a playmaker. He’s going to be consistent. When the ball is in his area, nobody else but him is going to get it. That’s why we had a lot of success in Hamilton together. He’s going to get open for you, and when the ball is in his area, he’s going to make a play for you.”

Taking a seat to make room for Jones will be Dobson Collins, who scored one of the only two Ottawa touchdowns at TD Place to date when he recovered an on-side punt in the end zone against Saskatchewan. But RedBlacks receivers in general aren’t going to get too much sympathy from fans these days – at least those who think the guys who are paid money to catch a ball should in fact catch a ball when it hits them in the hands.

“We’ve had a lot of drops this year,” said Ottawa’s receivers coach, Travis Moore.“When you drop the easy balls it’s because you’re relaxing, or turning your head too quick, you’re not following everything in. And then it really comes down to confidence. The more confidence you have, the less you drop.”

Moore is as qualified a mentor as you will find. Very quietly he became the fourth leading receiver in Calgary Stampeders history, picking up 7,536 yards over seven seasons before adding another 2.394 in three campaigns for Saskatchewan.

We say he had a quiet career in Calgary because Moore played with what he calls an “all-star cast” that included Allen Pitts, Terry Vaughn and Dave Sapunjis, then Marc Boerigter.

Collectively, they were as good if not better than any receiving corps in CFL history - and not just because they had as quarterbacks Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson (before Burris and Marcus Crandell) throwing them balls.

Moore was known for his dependability. He took “pride” in catching everything thrown his way.

“We had a lot of guys,” he said, “and we had to make the best of every opportunity when you had a chance.”

Moore says he isn’t getting frustrated with the slippery-fingered RedBlacks receivers. He’s being patient, and says the group is getting better every week. All he asks for is hard work and dedication.

“It’s the things you do after practice,” said Moore, now 44 and adamantly stating he will not come out of retirement to put on the cleats again. “You don’t get a lot of balls at practice. You have one ball. So it’s the extra work that you’ve got to put in after practice, before practice, days off … those are the kind of things that are going to help us grow, and become better receivers.”

In games, they have to want the ball.

“That’s something you keep feeding them,” said Moore. "They’ve got to understand, hey we believe in you, we’re going to keep throwing it to you and we’re going to trust you to make the plays.

"We always say you’re on a scholarship, because you’re playing a child’s game. You’re a grown man getting paid for it. You might only get one opportunity a game. Make it count.

“You don’t make any excuses,” he added. "As long as we don’t do that … hey let’s get the next one. You’ve got to erase that (drop). Sometimes you can get caught as a receiver, you start remembering that last drop and now you don’t trust your hands. The confidence is out the window and now it’s 50-50, right?

“You should always be ready. It’s confidence, understanding the defence, understanding the coverages, understanding where you need to be, then trusting. We’ve got to have that relationship. That’s everybody playing as a cohesive unit.”

That Jones and Burris know have a history should help.

“I’m just trying to continue to gain on that confidence for Henry, and just be there for whenever things don’t look good,” said Jones. “I can always be there for him.”

Expectations can’t be too high, however. Onrea is no Stephen, who should be considered for a spot in the CFL Hall of Fame. Onrea missed camp and was out of work until the RedBlacks signed him this week.

“I’ve kind of been waiting on this for awhile, it’s a blessing in disguise the RedBlacks picked me up,” he said in anticipation of his first start of the season. "I didn’t know when my chance was going to come. I just want to go out there and not necessarily just prove myself, but just go out there and just do me, and nothing more.

“When you start reaching is when you start messing up, and doing things out of your character. I just want to stay in my character and try to help this team out as much as I can.”

Hanging on to the balls thrown his way would be a start.